Love without borders: who are pansexuals

What do Tess Holliday, Amber Heard, Bella Thorne, Asya Kate Dillon, Miley Cyrus and hundreds of hot Tiktok girls have in common besides their star status? Their sexual orientation! It turns out that all these girls are pansexual.

Who are pansexuals?

The term pansexuality itself began to be used relatively recently, the last 5-6 years. Despite the fact that real pansexuals appeared much earlier, the general public has only just begun to recognize and accept this concept.

Contrary to some stereotypes and misconceptions, they say that there is no such phenomenon in nature and cannot be, pansexuality is the most real sexual orientation. The prefix “Pan” in this term comes from the Greek word “all”, that is, pansexuals are the so-called “all-sexuals”

This means that pansexuals can be romantically and sexually attracted to anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. People often confuse gender identity, that is, belonging to a particular sex, with sexual orientation. However, using pansexuality as a label for your sexual orientation says nothing about your gender.

Pansexuality has nothing to do with gender, but rather refers to the category of sexual orientation, so these pansexuals cannot be compared with transgender or third-gender people (yes, there are some).

They often refer to themselves as "gender blind", thereby emphasizing that their sexual attraction to a particular person does not depend on his gender or a certain set of genitals. This will indicate that a pansexual may be attracted to men, women, transgenders, non-genders, bigenders, as well as gender fluid, gender bizarre or non-binary people.

Pansexuals VS Bisexuals

Sometimes you can hear that pansexuals are the same bisexuals, only in trend. However, this is not at all the case, although at first glance it may seem that an equal sign can be put between pan- and bisexuals.

For pansexuals themselves, this comparison is often very upsetting, because they feel like people of broader views who do not want to divide others by gender when it comes to sexual attraction.

So the enfant terrible of the musical Olympus - Miley Cyrus, who came out in 2016 and openly declared her pansexuality, in her frank interview with Variety magazine said that she was always annoyed by the word "bisexual". It seemed to drive her into the strict framework of gender stereotypes, while, according to the singer, in her sexual partners she sees not a man or a woman, but a person.

Historically, bisexuality has been defined as romantic and sexual attraction to both men and women. At that time, society perceived the gender identity of a person as something binary. That is, there were only 2 sexes: male and female, with which a person could identify himself. As gender has evolved, so has the concept of bisexuality, which now means being romantically or sexually attracted to people of more than one gender. Whereas pansexuality is attraction to someone regardless of their gender.

The boundary between these two concepts is very thin, but it is fundamental for people of both orientations. Although, oddly enough, there are people who diplomatically hint that the truth is somewhere in between, and call themselves BiPansexuals.

Experts believe that sexual self-identification is largely influenced by cultural and demographic factors. Components such as age, race and geographic location can play a decisive role in what term a person chooses for their sexual self-identification.

For example, Americans in their twenties are more likely to use the term "pansexual", while Europeans born in the 80s and earlier are more likely to identify themselves as "bisexual". However, in recent times, an increasingly common practice is the transition of once bisexuals to pansexuals.

Pansexuality vs Polyamory

Some people use pansexuality and polyamory interchangeably. However, this has nothing to do with reality. Polyamory is also a kind of “love without boundaries”, like pansexuality, however, it is based on the possibility of a love relationship between one person and several people at the same time, with the consent and approval of all participants in these relationships, in contrast to monogamy, which implies exclusive relations.

The main difference between pansexuality and both polygamy and monogamy is that it is just a sexual orientation that does not dictate the type of relationship. Representatives of this sexual orientation, like everyone else, have the freedom of choice - to be happy, and it does not matter in what respects, polygamous or monogamous.

Another myth that pansexuals never cease to debunk is that, despite the prefix “pan,” their orientation is not synonymous with promiscuity, sexual promiscuity, and hypersexuality. Their “all-sexuality” does not mean at all that they are ready to have sexual contact with anyone, where, and at any time. On the contrary, pansexuals can be very picky, but this already depends more on the personality of the person than on his sexual orientation.

Often, society treats pansexuals too biased, reproaching them for sexual “greed” and relationship phobia. However, attraction to people regardless of their gender and sexual preferences does not preclude pansexuals from wanting relationships with a partner or partners. It's just that when pansexuals enter into a relationship, they build it not with a gender, but with a person. And they, like all other people, need meaningful, fulfilling relationships.

How do you know if you are pansexual?

Unfortunately or fortunately, you will not find an official test anywhere that will identify you as a pansexual and put up an appropriate label. Only by learning to listen and hear yourself and your sexual needs, you can reveal your true sexual orientation. If it happens that you are not pansexual, although this idea generally appeals to you, do not be discouraged! In the diversity of genders and sexual orientations that modern culture is rich in, you are sure to find something that is close to you. The main thing is not to get confused and not get lost in the wealth of choice.

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